Music character printing



1945' D. MORRISON 2,382,804

MUS IC CHARACTER PR INTING Filed March 28, 1944 ul as:

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M 8 DAVID L.MORRISON,

Patented Aug. 14, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,382,804 MUSICCHARACTER PRINTING David L. Morrison, Bloomfield, N. 5.

Application March 28, 1944, Serial No. 528,382

3 Claims.

This invention relates in particular to a device for manually printingmusical symbols or charactors, for example notes, sharps and flats, andone object of the invention is to provide such a device which shallinclude novel means for accurately locating or positioning and aligningthe characters horizontally and vertically relatively to each other andto the lines of the musical staff. However, more generally an object ofthe invention is to provide similar means in other devices forrelatively positioning or alining other characters, symbols or elementswhich are to be placed in contact with a surface.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed which shall mbody novel and improved features of constructionsuch that the characters can be printed rapidly and clearly and with aminimum of physical and mental strain.

A further object is to provide a novel and improved combination ofmanually operable means for printing a character or symbol and means fororienting the character or symbol in a desired or proper relation toother previously printed symbols or other inscriptions, indicia ormarks, whereby the printing means can be positioned and accurately heldat a desired point with the character properly oriented and thecharacter or symbol can be accurately printed while the printed means isso held.

Other objects are to provide such a devic which shall include means fordepositing, impressing or imprinting upon a-surface an element which isinvisible during the depositing, impressing or imprinting operation, andnovel and improved means for indicating the position of said elementrelative to said surface or other elements, impressions or printsthereon; and to obtain other advantages and results that will be broughtout by the following description in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device constructedin accordance with my invention showing the manner of using it.

Figure 2 is an enlarged central vertical sectional view through thelower end of the device shown in Figure 1, showing the parts in normalposition.

Figure 3 is a similar view showing the position of the parts during aprinting operation.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the device as illustrated in Figure 3 ona somewhat reduced scale.

Figures 5, 6 and '7 are bottom plan views of the device showingdifferent printing elements, and

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing a modification of theinvention.

Attached to the other end of the barrel 2 is one end of a block orbushing 4, the other end of which has a sleeve 5 separably attachedthereto as by screw threads 6. The sleeve 5 constitutes a retainer foran element such as a printing memher that is to be positioned or pressedinto contact with the surface.

In the specific embodiment of the invention, said element is formed toprint a desired symbol or character, particularly amusical character orsymbol such as a note, sharp or fiat. The element is shown as comprisinga. plate I of suitabl material, for example metal, to one side of whichis secured a rubber stamp 8. The plate I is slidably mountedin thesleeve 5 and has a circumferential flange 9 to cooperate with aninternal shoulder ill on the sleeve for preventing movement of the platecompletely out of the sleeve. A compression spring II is interposedbetween the plate and the block 4 normally to cause the stamp 8 to beexposed through the end of the sleeve as shown in Figure 2, and at thesame time permit the stamp to yieldingly retract upon pressure of thestamp against a surface to be printed.

Cooperating with the holder A and the printing element 1 is a locatorpin I2 which is longitudinally slidably mounted in an opening IS in theblock 4 and through an opening I4 in the the printing element I. One endof the locator pin 12 is pointed at l5 and normally projects beyond theprinting element as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and the other end of thepin has a head l6 which limits outward movement of the pin and betweenwhich and the end of the shank is interposed a compression spring I! fornormally projecting the pin from the printing member but permitting thepin to yieldingly retract as it is pressed into contact with a surface.Desirably the head l6 of the locator pin may have a finger piece I8projecting through a slot l9 in the barrel 2 for manual retraction ofthe pin where desired, as when the stamp 8 is pressed into contact witha stamp pad.

In the operation of the device so far described, the rubber stamp 8 willconform to one of the characters or symbols to be printed, in theprescut instance a whole note, and the locator pin projects inpredetermined relation to the stamp. When it is desired to print thecharacter, the stamp 8 is pressed into contact with an inking pad asusual, whereupon the point Ill of the locator pin is pressed intocontact with the surface to be printed at the place where it is desiredto make the impression of the stamp as shown in Figure 1. Thereupon theshank l is pressed downwardly to cause the stamp 8 to contact with thesurface being printed as shown in Figure 3, the printing elementretracting against the influence of the spring II to ensure a clearimpression. During this operation the pin IE will guide the holder andprevent lateral slipping thereof, and the pin will retract as shown inFigure 3.

Another feature of the invention is means for orienting horizontally andvertically relatively to the surface to be printed, the element, 1. e.the stamp 8 to be placed into contact with the surface. As shown, thismeans comprises a finder pin 26 projecting laterally from each ofdiametrically opposite sides of the block 6 and at least one otherfinder pin 2i projecting laterally from the block perpendicularly to thepins 2%. The pins iii and 28 have a predeteed relation to the printingelement, and to positively locate the printing element in predeterminedrelation in the holder, the plate ll may he formed with a flat surface22 on its edge to engage a corresponding flat surface 23 on the innersurface of the retainer sleeve 5. Preferably the surfaces 22 and 28 willbearranged at the top of the printing element as will also the pin 29,while the other pins 28 will project at the sides of the printingelement.

Accordingly, when the printing element represents a musical character,during the printing operation the point it of the locator pin will belocated on the space or line of the musical stat! B at the point whereit is desired to print the character. Then the pins will be located byturning the holder so that they are parallel with the lines of the staffand the pin 2! will be located at the upper side and perpendicular tothe lines of the staff, all as shown in Figures 1 and 4. Then theprinting element may be pressed into contact with the surface on whichthe musical staff is printed as above described.

Conveniently the rubber stamp may be in the form of a whole note asillustrated which may be changed to a half note by adding a tail with anordinary pen and may be changed to a quarter note, an eighth note, etc.by filling in the whole note character and adding a properly markedtail.

The construction and combination of the retainer I and the printingelement makes it possible to easily and quickly mount and remove theprinting element on and from the holder respectively, and variousprinting elements can be easily and quickly interchanged. Thus oneprinting element may represent a ledger line as indicated at 24 inFigure 5, and other printing elements may represent sharps and flats asindicated at 26 and 21 in Figures 8 and I.

when the ledger line printing element is utilized, the locator pin 12will be spaced from the rubber stamp 24 representing the ledger line adistance corresponding to the spaces between the lines of the musicalstafl. and in printing the ledger line the locator pin will be placed onthe top or bottom stafl line or the next adjacent ledger line with thepins 20 located with respect to the staff lines as hereinbeforedescribed. when the ledger line is printed above the stall, the pin 2|will be located at the top side of the holder as shown in Figure 1,while when printing the ledger line below the stall the finder pin 2|will be located at the underside of the holder.

If desired, a printing element may be arranged at each end of the holderas shown in Figure 8, for example the holder C may have a ledger lineprinting element 24 at one end thereof and a printing element for one ofthe other characters such as hereinbefore described at the other end.

Other modifications and changes in the details of construction and inthe use of the devices will occur to those skilled in the art as withinthe spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a manually operableholder, a marking element mounted on one end of said holder to he placedin contact with a. surface and being invisible durlng the markingoperation, a locator pin projecting longitudinally from said end of theholder centrally of said marking element to engage said surface at thepoint where contact of said element with said surface is to be made,said pin being yieldingly retractable into said holder as it is pressedagainst said surface, and indicators projecting laterally from saidholder in predetermined fixed relation to said element for orientingsaid element horizontally and vertically relatively to said surface.

2. The device set forth in claim 1 wherein said indicators comprisefinder pins one projecting from each of opposite sides of said holder inalinement with each other and at least one projecting from said holderperpendicularly to the first-mentioned pins.

3. A device of the character described comprise ing a plate having aprinting element thereon, a

rod-like handle having a barrel at one end, a

sleeve separably attached at one end to said barrel, said plate beingmounted within said sleeve so as to expose said printing member at theother end of the sleeve, said sleeve and said plate having cooperatingportions to hold said plate against displacement through thesecond-mentioned end of the sleeve and said printing element beinginvisible during a printing operation, said plate having a central hole,and a locator pin slidably projecting through said hole and yieldinglyretractably slidably mounted in said barrel to engage a surface at thepoint where an impression of said printing element is to be made.

DAVID L. MORRISON.

